


i. grave digger (english version)

by xbeauxny



Series: who killed jason todd [english version] [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics)
Genre: Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd-centric, M/M, Matt Maeson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27411082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xbeauxny/pseuds/xbeauxny
Summary: He didn't felt nothing. He didn't remember anything. He left the grave freshly dug, walking with difficulty to get out of the cemetery, the only thing in mind was his name. It was the only thing he had from his past life, the vague memory of a man who once loved him. And he wandered and wandered through the streets of Gotham without being noticed. Dressed with an expensive suit that was dirty with a lot of dirt, and his hands without nails and full of blood. Jason Todd lived, and the only thing he knew before he was assaulted reacting by stimulus, and being run over by a car, was his name. Bruce.
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon & Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain & Jason Todd, Damian Wayne & Colin Wilkes, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Lian Harper & Roy Harper & Jason Todd, Roy Harper & Bruce Wayne, Roy Harper & Jason Todd, Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Jason Todd, Talia al Ghul & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Series: who killed jason todd [english version] [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002672
Comments: 2
Kudos: 72





	i. grave digger (english version)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, this is a new project that i'm doing. It's basically made using the songs from the EP of an artist that I really love, Who Killed Matt Maeson (2017) by Matt Maeson. It's an EP that reminds me a lot of our boy Jay, and I wanted to write about it by making a story with the lyrics of the songs.
> 
> The project involves making one shots with the two EPs + his complete album. His songs reminds me a lot of Jay's story, and I think the first chapter of six of "who killed jason todd" is a very good start for this project, grave digger was written in one day, with great affection for all of you.
> 
> As I always say in all the stories that I appear translating, English is not my native language, I'm Brazilian, so, I'm translating with what I know of the English language and putting what I think it could be more easy to understand according to what I know. I hope it's not too bad and that you enjoy this story, and the others that will be posted soon.
> 
> For Brazilian readers, I will be posting both versions, in English and Portuguese.

Nothing can comfort a parent's heart when they lose a child. Like every family in the world, Bruce Wayne felt one of the worst forms of sadness in the world, he felt angry, he felt guilty, and most of all, he felt the loss. He wasn’t a person who wasn’t used on having casualties in life, he had already lost a lot. His parents as a child, he had lost hope many times, his will to fight, he had lost his first child through a stupid fight, but he never thought about how painful would be to lose a child to death, not until it happened.

Jason Todd was a soldier. Shaped to fight to do the right thing, he was the boy that, lived on the street when was found. He was the boy who had lost his father to crime, and his mother to drugs. He was the boy who had stolen three tires from the most protected car in the world, and if he just had a few more minutes, he would have stolen all four and would never have been caught. He was the boy that the greatest detective in the world had seen kindness, but also, seen a possible route to a dangerous path. Jason Todd was, above all, his son, an imperfect person, an excellent reader, an incredible kitchen apprentice, student, dear brother and friend, he was named the second Robin, and now, deceased.

_I can’t run to you, father_

_I need love_

_I can’t talk to you, mother_

_I know it’s got you caught up_

Jason Todd was missed, especially for those who weren’t prepared or even aware of his loss. Bruce Wayne was late for seconds, he felt part of his heart break when he saw that warehouse explode. Guilt was no longer an old friend, she was present in every second of his life, he could taste the bitterness in his mouth, for having left his son alone, for never having said directly about the loss to his first child.

Alfred Pennyworth felt the loss, as if the boy were his own son. The butler knew what it felt like to be powerless when he had to deal with problems in his youth. He watched little Bruce grow up to become Batman, he witnessed every time the young master threw himself into trouble. Unlike Jason, Bruce learned from his mistakes and learned a way to teach Dick the right way.

The butler's heart has always been in the right place. He had an inexplicable bond with the boy, he understood very well what his second grandson was going through. He **knew** that Jason wasn’t born for good people. He knew well that the boy's problems started long before his conception, nobody noticed, but Jason carried a lot of weight on his shoulders. Alfred mourned the boy, and like Bruce, he felt guilty for not having done enough to help him.

_But your sweet sinless sensation is not my style_

_And I’m not givin’ up_

Dick Grayson felt angry at first. He wasn’t on the best terms with Bruce, but he knew that adopting another child and putting him in the vigilante life wasn’t the right thing. Their relationship was practically nonexistent, Dick used to get along with everyone, but when it came to Jason Todd, he couldn't. He hated the boy, but he couldn't tell if the hate came because of the boy, or if it was because he was still angry at his father, but he just couldn't stay close to the boy without feeling hate.

Things remained the same, every time Dick was at the mansion, Jason was surrounded by screams and fights, which occasionally involved him. Dick, being the golden son, shouted to his adoptive father, that the boy was not entitled to Robin's mantle. He shouted toxic words, he knew Jason was in trouble, and even though he knew that not all people were as good and pure as he liked to believe, he made no effort to put his brother's image down.

And he didn't regret it. Not until it was too late. Despite being Bruce Wayne's adopted son, Jason was never a Dick Grayson. Jason hated the feeling, the one that ran through his veins every time he felt he had to do his best to impress, and tried to ignore that thought, which told him that he should be recognized for what he is, and not for a failed attempt to reach the feet of the prodigy boy.

He knew he wasn't an acrobat, he knew he wasn't perfect, he knew he didn't fit in with the _sweet feeling of being sinless_ , but that didn't stop him from hearing all those things. Not only from his family, his brother's friends, his own girlfriend at the time, Barbara Gordon didn't know at that time, but shouting at a 15-year-old boy, that he was never going to be Dick Grayson, was a giant burden for the tired boy to carry.

_But tell me if i run away, how long will I bleed?_

_So, tell me if I run away, how long will I bleed?_

Jason thought about running away, many times. Running away from all the things that haunted him, running away from the wrong thoughts he had, but running away from things wasn’t the best way to resolve his conflicts. He knew he had to be strong, he had made that promise to his dead mother, when the police entered the apartment and tried to get her body of the middle of the room.

He lost her very early, and with his father in prison, he knew he didn't have many options or money. He had no way to sustain himself and felt that he was alone for everything. He felt that his only escape, the only thing that calmed him down was cigarette, each drag took him back, back to scenarios before his mother's death, which alone haunted him enough. And it was on one of those cigarette escapes that he started a kind of friendship with one of Dick's friends.

Roy Harper, partner of the Green Arrow, a redhead with green eyes, and that night, someone very stoned. Roy was a rebellious teenager, adopted son of Oliver Queen, with an immense future ahead of him, he only had obstacles in his life. Drug addiction prevented Roy from having more comfort in life, he wasn’t with the Titans in space when Dick found out but was close when his friend yelled at his father for not waiting for him to the funeral. He was with Dick when the mourning came, and he tried to resist the urge, but nothing seemed to make sense at the time.

_Colors blend_

_They’re all black and White_

_Goddamn it, I cannot bend_

_I’m all shriveled inside_

Roy knew he couldn't give in, especially after the boy's death. He started to meet the boy more often, as friends, Harper was the only one who didn't expect anything from Jason, he was the only one who saw him for what he was, and not for Robin's appearances shaped by Dick. Roy came to know Jason's story, about his mother, about his life, sometimes it seemed that Roy knew him more than he knew himself.

And then, Jason went to Ethiopia with Bruce, for a case. What Roy never knew, was that Jason had another case, a private one, his birth mother was in Ethiopia too. He never forgave himself for not stopping Jason, it wasn't like he knew it was going to happen, but he wanted to have been there, when the boy found out about his mother, when the boy was tricked by it and sold to a lunatic psychopath.

For one last time, Roy fled to the heroine, fell on a path of no return. He lost many things, including his father, who at the time didn’t know how to help him, and the best way was to get him out of where he was. Last time trips were never Roy's final stop, it was only his last when he discovered the greatest happiness of his life. It made him anxious, nervous and extremely worried. Being a parent transforms your world, especially if you have to learn from it, grow together with something that is eternally yours. Lian Harper grew up knowing who Jason Todd was, and why he was so important to her father, even though she never met him.

_But your sweet sinless sensation is not my style_

_And I’m not givin’ up_

_But tell me if i run away, how long will I bleed?_

_So, tell me if I run away, how long will I bleed?_

Sheila Haywood was her name, and Jason's heart couldn't feel a better lull when he finally found her. Unfortunately, their meeting wasn’t as happy as he expected. She was helping the Joker from the beginning, because of blackmail, Sheila had to replace expensive supplies from a truck, with laughing gas. Jason, dressed as Robin, believed she was in danger, and in an act of trying to save her, he ended up being a victim to the psychopath.

It took hours, the plan was to make small talk with the kidnapper until Batman arrived to save him, but that never happened. The bastard let him talk for hours, beating life out of his weak body, in the end, the warehouse exploded, Sheila couldn't be more shocked, when she saw the boy crawling, totally weak and with lifeless eyes, and then he covered her with his body.

Her last words to Bruce were that she felt regret. She regretted it, and she could see that Jason was a good son, and then Bruce held the lifeless body, full of blood and bruises, and he cried. He cried because he wasn’t in the best phase of his relationship with his son, he cried because he knew he would never see him smile again, he cried because he would never have to fight with him again to stop reading a book and go to sleep. Finally, Bruce Wayne cried, because he had to carry his son's body in his arms and had to remain strong when he saw his body in a coffin, those were the worst days for the millionaire.

_Ain’t no point in tryna pick me up when I’m down_

_Yeah, you can stick out your hand_

_And you can lean towards the ground_

There weren’t many people at his funeral. Only the acquaintances of the family, it wasn’t the best day for anyone, the boy wasn’t buried in the mansion's cemetery, he was buried in the cemetery of Gotham, next to Catherine Todd. Bruce wanted to do the best, and he thought it would be what the boy would want. His coffin was protected with sensors, in case they tried to steal his body. In the face of so many tragedies, Bruce hoped they would finally let the boy rest.

After a few months, the world's greatest detective became out of control. More aggressive, more reckless, and totally limitless, he needed to be stopped, and Tim Drake saw that. Timothy was an admirer of Jason like Robin, he followed him through the streets with a camera, and in a matter of days he knew who he and Batman were. Tim followed Bruce's psychological after his son's death, he knew, at that moment, that he needed to intervene.

Many visits to Jason's grave made Tim realize that Bruce needed a partner, Batman needed Robin. He tried to contact Dick Grayson, but the eldest son was far from coming home. Then, he realized he had to do it alone. After days of talking to Bruce, about the same subject, and seeing the man deny it every time. However, one night, in an act of extreme insanity, the teenager wears the command, in exchange for saving Batman from the villain Two-Face, and from that night forward, Timothy started training with Batman and Nightwing, finally becoming the third Robin. In his heart, Tim was screaming for Jason, wherever he was, to be proud of him.

_I'll be tryna suck all of the liquid out the dirt  
Tryna catch a curve, digging my own grave!  
Ooh, mama  
  
_

One night, Jason's coffin sensors went crazy. It was a patrol night, and no one was in the cave to see it. Alfred was upstairs in the mansion, and he was not following the patrol as he always does, Bruce and Tim were in the field, investigating a case brought by Dick de Bludhaven. It was supposed to be just another night, just a normal case, but when they went back to the cave, they saw the sensors, and when they searched the camera, they saw the coffin intact. They deduced that the rain would have activated the sensors and went to the mansion for a night's rest.

What they didn't know is: that night, Jason Todd woke up in his coffin. The boy screamed, the only thing his mind begged for. Bruce, Bruce, Bruce. Desperation coursed through his body when his hands began to scratch the roof of the box. The first layer was a scented foam fabric, placed there so as not to further damage the body, it was easy to tear it by hand, it was difficult when it reached the wood.

 _I'll be tryna suck all of the liquid out the dirt_  
Tryna catch a curve, digging my own grave!  
Ooh, mama

He scratched, and scratched, until his nails were gone, until only blood was left from his injured fingers. The coffin opened, and he dug it out from the inside feeling dirt entering his mouth, while still desperately shouting his name. He screamed and dug, throwing his body up, feeling the rain on his body, coughing the earth out of his lungs.

_But your sweet sinless sensation is not my style_

_And I’m not givin’ up_

He didn't felt nothing. He didn't remember anything. He left the grave freshly dug, walking with difficulty to get out of the cemetery, the only thing in mind was _his name_. It was the only thing he had from his past life, the vague memory of a man who once loved him. And he wandered and wandered through the streets of Gotham without being noticed. Dressed with an expensive suit that was dirty with a lot of dirt, and his hands without nails and full of blood. Jason Todd lived, and the only thing he knew before he was assaulted reacting by stimulus, and being run over by a car, was his name. _Bruce_.

_But tell me if i run away, how long will I bleed?_

_So, tell me if I run away, how long will I bleed?_

**Author's Note:**

> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/xbeauxxny)  
> [my tumblr](https://xbeauxny.tumblr.com/)   
> [my wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/user/xbeauxny)


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